Prince Andrew sex abuse trial will go ahead, as Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s civil lawsuit moves forward
In a major blow for Prince Andrew, a US judge has ruled that a sex abuse case launched by Australian-based woman Virginia Roberts Giuffre can proceed.
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A US federal judge has ruled that the sex abuse lawsuit against Prince Andrew brought by a longtime Jeffrey Epstein accuser could move forward.
Judge Lewis Kaplan denied the royal’s motion to dismiss Australian-based woman Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s civil suit against him.
New York Post reports that Prince Andrew’s lawyers had argued to dismiss the suit – claiming Ms Roberts Giuffre was barred from suing him because of a 2009 settlement agreement that she inked with Epstein, to dismiss a Florida suit she brought against the late paedophile.
The agreement releases “other potential defendants” from being sued by Ms Roberts Giuffre, but Judge Kaplan wrote in his decision that the language of the agreement is too ambiguous for him to dismiss the suit against the Queen’s second-born son.
“The parties have articulated at least two reasonable interpretations of the critical language,” Judge Kaplan wrote.
“The agreement therefore is ambiguous. Accordingly, the determination of the meaning of the release language in the 2009 Agreement must await further proceedings.”
Judge Kaplan added that “the releasing language” in the agreement was ambiguous.
“The 2009 Agreement cannot be said to demonstrate, clearly and unambiguously, that the parties intended to instrument ‘directly,’ ‘primarily,’ or ‘substantially’ to benefit Prince Andrew,” the judge stated.
“The existence of the requisite intent to benefit him, or others comparable to him, is an issue of fact that could not properly be decided on this motion even if the defendant fell within the releasing language, which itself is ambiguous.”
Ms Roberts Giuffre sued Prince Andrew in a New York federal court in August, claiming she was forced to have sex with the royal three times, while she was a teen.
Ms Roberts Giuffre, who now lives in Australia, claims she was directed by paedophile billionaire Epstein and his cohort Ghislaine Maxwell each time she allegedly had sex with the royal.
The abuse happened in New York, London and on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, according to the suit.
In the suit, Ms Roberts Giuffre’s lawyers describe her as a “child” who was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew – and feared for her life if she didn’t do as instructed.
They wrote of the alleged sex abuse in London: “During this encounter, Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew forced Plaintiff, a child, to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will.”
Ms Roberts Giuffre’s lawyer David Boies has said he intends to depose up to a dozen people ahead of trial, including the prince himself.
They may also request to depose Meghan Markle because of her position as a US resident with ties to the royal family, Mr Boies told Fox News in December.
“We want to have at least a couple of depositions of people who knew Prince Andrew and were sort of members of his inner circle at various times and who might have either have knowledge themselves or have knowledge about people who would have knowledge,” Mr Boies said.
“Meghan Markle, because of her position in the family, is one of those people,” he said.
“And because she’s in the United States, it’s easier to take her deposition than people in the United Kingdom. She is somebody who we are considering,” Mr Boies added.
Lawyers for Prince Andrew have not yet commented.
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